high fiber cooking

[jremchuk]

I need tasty high fiber recipes I have a 4 year old who must be on a high fiber diet. Breakfast is especially difficult trying to avoid dairy. Can anyone recommend a great cookbook?

[CL Fan]

I don't know of a cookbook, but some thoughts in short-term:

Try whole wheat cous cous. I know this sounds terrible, but they are very high in fiber and taste the same as regular cous-cous. You can cook in apple juice and add raisins, apples, cinnamon or dried apricots and other high fiber and tasty fruit. You could also sprinkle toasted wheat germ on cereal, fresh fruit or toast w/ some jam. You could also make some muffins or cake bars with apricot puree (made with dried apricots in your blender - I can find a recipe if you want it). You could also make smoothies without dairy. Hope these help.

[JodiL]

Well, I don't have a cookbook to recommend, but I do have a couple of breakfast ideas: how about using a high fiber bread and making cinnamon toast or french toast? Also, you didn't mention if your daughter can't or won't eat dairy, but a lot of cereals have high fiber. For dinner, I'd eat lots of beans with grains, like beans and rice, vegetable barley soups, or hot dogs with baked beans(that should be kid friendly). If I dig up other recipes, I'll let you know.

Jodi

[mlou]

Graham crackers are very high in fiber, also ground flax seeds. You can add the seeds to almost anything and it is some of the best fiber you can get.

[emilycat]

Hodgson Mill has some great hot cereals, if she likes things like oatmeal (which would also be good) The wheat bran hot cereal is delicious with cinnamon and sugar ( or mixed with tomatoes and cheese for dinner) and has 8 grams of fiber per serving. Also, for breakfast, nutri-grain kellog's waffles are good sources of fiber.
For dinner, have you thought about lentils? They make wonderful soups, and are REALLY high in fiber.
If you need more ideas, I have plenty...I'm kind of a fiber junkie.
Em

[lanie]

Just found this recipe at Prevention site - maybe your daughter would like it - fairly good fibre content:

Heart-Healthy Muffins
BananaBerry Muffins
1½ c rolled oats
1 c whole wheat flour
½ c ground flaxseed
½ c packed brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp ground cinnamon
3 bananas, mashed
½ c skim milk
2 egg whites
2 Tbsp applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
½ c blueberries (fresh or frozen)

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Coat 10 muffin cups with nonstick spray.

2. In a lg bowl, mix oats, flour, flaxseed, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. In a med bowl, mix bananas, milk, egg whites, applesauce, and vanilla. Pour liquid into flour mixture and stir to combine. Stir in blueberries.

3. Spoon into the muffin cups, filling them about three-quarters full. Bake 22 min., until golden brown. Let cool 5 min., then remove from cups. Yields 10.

Diet Exchanges: Milk 0; Vegetable 0; Fruit 0.7; Bread 2.1; Meat 0.2; Fat 0.5

Cal. 220; Fat 3.8 g (15% of cal); Sat. Fat 0.5 g; Chol 0 mg; Fiber 3.3 g; Pro 6.1 g; Carb 41.8 g; Sodium 137 mg.

[laden]

Many of the Kashi line of cereals are very high in fiber. Kashi "for Good Friends" has about 9 grams of fiber. Serve it with soy milk and add some high fiber blueberries.

[Grace]

Raspberries are SUPER high in fiber. Every kid likes those....

[emilycat]

I just recently found out about how fibrous raspberries are, but it's something like 8grams for a cup! Wow, and they're so good!
You also might want to try using whole wheat pastas. They have 5-6 grams per serving, and they taste great...I don't ever use regular semolina pasta anymore.

[Grace]

I'm with you Em, I only use whole wheat pasta too (including lasagna noodles!). I also buy whole wheat tortillas and whole wheat pita breads. One more thing with kids in mind, you can buy whole wheat macaroni and cheese. Annie's is the brand name, and I like it a lot. I get it at my local Dominick's store (in the "weird" aisle!), or also at Whole Foods Market. If you can't find it in your area, I can give you the website address. Let me know.

Eating high fiber isn't really that hard when you know what to look for, and though it seems as though it's been specifically prescribed for your child, it's a really good idea for everyone to eat as much fiber as possible. Keeps you thin, too.

Grace

[CL Fan]

What type of whole wheat pasta do you buy? I've tried a few different brands (such as DeBoles), but find the taste overpowering. I eat whole wheat bread, cous-cous & sprouted wheat tortillas & really try to eat whole grains & few white flour products. However, I just haven't found a WW pasta that I like yet. Suggestions?

[Grace]

CL Fan,

We eat Hodgson Mill brand. Go to www.hodgsonmill.com (http://www.hodgsonmill.com) and check it out. They have a large variety of whole wheat pasta products, and we like the taste just fine. My husband is pretty picky, and he has no problem with the taste.

Grace

[Shelly]

Oatmeal would be a really good choice for breakfast (not instant). I like to buy oats in bulk from the health food store; they are so much better than quick or instant. You can cook it with juice or water, and add raisins, any other dried fruits (cherries, cranberries, apricots) and nuts. My personal favorite is apples (unpeeled and cut in chunks), raisins, cinnamon and brown sugar. I cook it with a mix of 1/2 apple juice and 1/2 milk, but you can use any combo of milk, water or juice as long as the proportion of oatmeal to liquid is 1:2. Combine it all in a pan and bring to a boil; turn the heat down and simmer for 8-10 min. until apples are fork tender. YUMMY!!!!
There are several kinds of multigrain cereals, hot and cold. You just might have to do some looking; try your local health food store first.
I agree with Grace about the WW pasta; we also eat Hodgson Mill, and I can't tell a huge difference in the taste either. It's a great way to sneak fiber into your family's diet.

[emilycat]

CL Fan,
Like Grace, I usually buy Hodgson Mill; they make angel hair, spaghetti, linguine, fettucine and lasagne noodles, as well as a whole wheat spinach variation that's also really good. I recently discovered Whole Foods' whole wheat pastas; they're also great and come in every pasta shape imaginable. Hope you can find some of these!
Em

[Ohioan]

Citrus fruits and most vegetables (including potatoes with the skin on) are very high in fiber. So one starting point for breakfast might be to serve a sectioned orange or grapefruit instead of fruit juice. And what about potato pancakes -- for any meal, including breakfast -- made with unpeeled potatoes? (Think innovatively here about seasoning for breakfast.) Chopped bell peppers thrown into almost any dish will add fiber and flavor. Cole slaw (cabbage) is also a high-fiber dish; make it with a vinaigrette instead of a cream or mayonnaise based dressing.

Beans and whole grains, of course, including brown rice, are packed with fiber and endlessly versatile.

Actually, before I go on with more suggestions, I guess I should ask: What kind of fiber are you looking for most? Soluble or insoluble? And do you have to avoid anything else besides dairy? (Like sugar, for example, which will rule out many fruits?)

Phoebe

[CL Fan]

Thanks for the suggestion! I tried Hodgson Mills & it's good! Thanks for posting the link to the stie. I had tried DeBolles and another brand from the health food store and just found them too "wheaty".